Cloud Strife
|-|Final Fantasy VII= |-|Advent Children= Character Synopsis Cloud Strife is the main protagonist in Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. He formally was a high ranking member of SOLDIER before abandoning his duty and becoming a mercenary that'll take up any job for the right price. He was initially an arrogant swordsman, but later discovers more about his past and with the help of his friends, learns there is more to being a hero than fame and power. This allowed Cloud to develope compassion for the Planet and people he fights to protect. He fights to protect the Planet against his nemesis, Sephiroth. Character Statistics Tier: 4-B Verse: '''Final Fantasy, specially Final Fantasy VII '''Name: Cloud Strife Gender: '''Male '''Age: '''Starts off as 14-16 during Crisis Core, 21 to 24 through the course of FFVII, Advent Children and Dirge of Cerebrus '''Classification: '''Mako-Infused Human, Mercenary, Memeber of SOLDIER (formely), Clone of Sephiroth '''Special Abilities: |-|FFVII Abilities=Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Weapon Mastery and Master Marksman (His training when under the wing of SOLDIER grants Cloud the natural ability to use swords and guns), Enhanced Senses (Can sense other people from a great distance), Acrobatics (Cloud has consistently shown acrobatic skills, even in combat), Energy Manipulation (His attacks draw from spiritual energy and can empower his attacks with perpectual energy), Non-Physical Interaction (Can fend off and even kill The Ghosts of The Gi Tribe), Astral Projection (Capable of projecting himself into The Lifestream), Death Manipulation (Finishing Touch can induce death, instantly killing opponents), Soul Manipulation (Souls that are struck down by Cloud don't pass but are simply destroyed. Also Cloud's spirit can harm other souls), Negation (Up to Low-High, the pieces of Jenova, even cells, destroyed by the party are gone for good and can't be used for the Reunion to rebuild Jenova's body. Can permanently kill Jenova and her pieces, who aside from being extremely durable is able to regenerate from single cells, as well as survive as long as just her cells remain, through which she can enforce her will, even through other people injected with them. Additionally, can permanently finish off the souls and spectres of the Gi Tribe), Magic (Has access to magic due to his Mako and connection with The Earth), Matter Manipulation, Explosion Manipulation (Flare causes an explosion through the colliding of the opponent's atoms), Elemental Manipulation (In the form of Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind and Earth), Gravity Manipulation (Through Gravity, which intensifies gravity on a target), Purification (Esuna and Poison can achieve this), Time Manipulation (Spells such as Haste, Slow and Stop make alterations to time in their respective manners), Poison Manipulation (Bio spells involve poisoning opponents through manipulating toxicity), Transmutation, Statistics Reduction (Frog transmutes opponents into frogs and reduces the enemy’s offensive capabilities), Size Manipulation (Small turns opponents into a much shorter height than their usually present in), Sleep Manipulation (Sleepel causes opponents to go to sleep instantly), Madness Manipulation, Mind Manipulation (Confu causes opponents to become confused and an even cause them to go mad. This can also be a side effect of Tornado), BFR (Remove sends opponents to another location off the battlefield), Regeneration (Mid-Low via Regen), Attack Reflection (Reflect sends attacks right back at opponents), Healing (via the Cure spells and FullCure), Teleportation (Exit allows Cloud to escape the battlefield at any time), Damage Reduction via Barrier Creation (the Barrier, MBarrier and Shield effects reduce damage instead of blocking attacks), Biological Manipulation (Manipulate allows Cloud to control ones body), Information Analysis (Sense allows Cloud to learn about his opponents and the surrounding area), Can attack two to four times almost simultaneously through 2x-Cut and 4x-Cut, Can cast two different Spells or Summons through W-Magic and W-Summon, Power Mimicry vis E-Skills Resistance to BFR (despite entering the Planet's Core within the Lifestream itself, Cloud was not taken forcefully taken from the living world. Later, his spirit followed Sephiroth's deeper into the Lifestream without being reclaimed); Mind Manipulation and Memory Manipulation (his mind has grown strong enough to not collapse nor be eroded under the weight of the Spirit Energy of the Lifestream); Soul Manipulation, Soul Absorption and Empathic Manipulation (his spirit was not forcefully diffused nor reabsorbed by the Lifestream); Biological Absorption, Deconstruction and Matter Manipulation (his physical body wasn't absorbed nor was dissolved by the Lifestream to retake his Spirit Energy); Corruption (Despite immense exposure to Spirit Energy, on several occasions, he never became a Makonoid. Additionally, was unaffected by Jenova's Virus despite confronting her directly); Extreme Heat and Extreme Radiation (withstood Sephiroth's Supernova); Mind Reading, Perception Manipulation, Illusion Creation, Telekinesis and Possession (by the time of their spiritual battle, he had grown strong enough to resist Sephiroth's mental abilities and defeat him); Power Mimicry and Power Absorption (Limit Breaks are born from the user's Spirit Energy, which shapes their mind and soul, and cannot be copied or imitated, the sole exception being Zack who is acknowledged as an unusual case, and even then creates a variant of the original move), Negation (by the time of their final battle, his Healing Magic works despite Sephiroth’s nullification), Status Ailments via Resist (though this spell prevents the user from healing negative conditions already inflicted on them), Elemental Damage he can access through Materia and Physical Damage (of slashing, piercing, blunt force and gunfire kind; via Shield, however, the spell will prevent the user from healing themselves outside of regeneration). |-|Advent Children Abilities=All previous abilities but far stronger, Flight (Through Omnislash Versions 5; albeit said flight is limited), Duplication (Through Omnislash Version 6), greater Negation (Now up to Mid-Godly; Capable of killing Sephiroth, who was able to return despite the death of his body and destruction of his spirit. In Final Fantasy, the spirit is made of mind, consciousness, memories and self of a person), Resistance to Fear Manipulation (was unaffected by Advent Children Sephiroth's presence, which is terrifying enough to make Yuffie panic). |-|Support Abilities=Elemental Attacks of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which grants the user different attributes when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and Status Effect Inducement of the Poison Manipulation, Sleep Inducement, Berserk Inducement, Madness Manipulation, Petrification, Transmutation into Frogs, Size Minimization, Silence Inducement, Time Slowdown, Time Stop and Instant Death variety (via the Added Effect Materia, which allows the user to inflict several Status Ailments when linked with different Magic and Summon Materia in their weapons), and raw power boost via Magic Attack Boost (via MP Turbo); Life Absorption (via HP Absorb) and Energy Absorption (via MP Absorb); Instinctive Reaction of different varieties: Counterattacking (via Counter Attack or Counter, Magic Counter and Final Attack linked with certain offensive Materia), Automatic Healing (via Magic Counter or Final Attack linked with a healing Materia, or the Life or Phoenix Materia to save the user from near death), Automatic Follow-Up (via Added Cut) and Instinctive Initiative (via First Strike); Enhanced Awareness and Stealth (via Pre-Emptive, which allows to sneak on and attack enemies by surpise and prevents the user from being ambushed or being caught off-guard); Additionally, can use the same Spell or Summon four times at once at half power (via Quadra Magic, except for Knights of the Round); can turn the single-targeting of several of Commands and Spells into an Area of Effect (via the All and Mega All Materia); regular attacks can reach a few meters beyond their actual physical reach (via the Long Range Materia). Resistance to Elemental Manipulation of the Fire, Absolute Zero Ice, Lightning, Wind, Earth, Water, Gravity and Holy variety (via the Elemental Materia, which protects the user from different elements when linked with Magic and Summon Materia in their armor); Status Effect Inducement which includes Poison Manipulation (as well as Acid Manipulation); Sleep Inducement; Silence Inducement; Transmutation; Power Nullification; Petrification; Size Manipulation; Madness Manipulation; Berserk Inducement; Time Manipulation, Time Stop and Death Manipulation (via Added Effect, which protects the user from different ailments when combined with Magic and Summon Materia in their armor); as well as to Extreme Pressure (via Undertwater, which prevents the user from being affected by the conditions of the bottom of the ocean). Destructive Ability: Solar System Level (Superior to Bahamut Fury, who created and draws power from an alternate realm that is large enough to contain a sun and at least two planets. Played a fundamental part in the defeat of Sephiroth and Jenova, the former of which can create Supernova, an attack powerful enough to destroy with this much force) | Solar System Level '(Superior to his previous self in FFVII, however had grown weaker due to Geostigma. Managed to hold off the three aspects of Sephiroth, whom of which are hold his power and were able to stomp out Tifa. Once cured, his attacks could oneshot beings who originally could shrug off his attacks and defeated Sephiroth himself, who had became stronger than before) 'Speed: Massively FTL+ (Swifter than the likes of Bahamut Fury, who busted the moon with these speeds. Also can take on Jenova and Sephiroth, who are undoubtedly superior to the likes of the aforementioned Bahamut Fury) | Massively FTL+ '(While infected, Cloud was still able to keep up with the three Remnants of Sephiroth. Sephiroth himself couldn't properly react to Omnislash Versions 5 and 6) 'Lifting Ability: Class G (Should be physically comparable to Tifa, who can easily lift monsters many times her size, like the Weapons) Striking Ability: Solar System Class '(His attacks could harm the likes of Sephiroth and kill of Jenova completely. Also physically above Bahamut Fury, who can create a realm that is an analog for The Solar System) | '''Solar System Class '(Even while still infected his Limit Breaks could one-shot Bahamut SIN and said being was tanking attacks from the entire party. Omnislash Versions 5 and 6, could defeat Sephiroth in one go) 'Durability: Solar System Level '(Tanked the awakening of the five remaining Weapons in the Northern Crater. Can withstand the power of The Supernova) | 'Solar System Level '(Went through Bahamut SIN's Petaflare unharmed and endured Sephiroth's Octaslash) '''Stamina: Extremely high, fights against entire gauntlets of monsters with no signs of exhaustion and clashing with the Remnants of Sephiroth on even ground despite being afflicted with Geostigma. In addition, he was able to continue fighting even after sustaining multiple injuries and being impaled through the torso by Sephiroth. Range: Extended melee range with his swords. Dozens of meters with Limit Breaks, much higher with Materia. Intelligence: An immensely skilled combatant and the only person to have defeated Sephiroth in a duel. From the memories he inherited from Zack he is a master swordsman, deftly wielding the massive Buster Sword with precision and using it in conjunction with the various magic spells he has access to through the use of materia, which he has likely mastered. He is also a capable leader, spearheading several successful operations against Shinra during his time with AVALANCHE. In addition, he has accumulated a wealth of fighting experience from fighting a wide variety of enemies, from elite special ops units to the dangerous monsters that wander the Earth and even cosmic horrors like Jenova. Weaknesses: Cloud must be hard pressed in order to use his Limit Breaks. After the events of Final Fantasy VII, he has become somewhat moody and depressed as he tries to piece together his identity from his fractured memories, but this his condition has improved since the ending of Advent Children Other Attributes List of Equipment: *'Buster Sword:' By far Cloud's most iconic weapon. This massive broadsword with a single edge was formerly wielded by Angeal Hewley and then Zack Fair, who passed it to Cloud in his final moments, naming Cloud his legacy. *'Ultima Weapon:' Cloud's strongest sword in the original game, obtained after defeating the Ultimate Weapon. This large two-edged blade has the power to increase Cloud's physical might several times when he's at full health. The effect remains active if Cloud sustains damage, but the more he is hurt the weaker the boost will become. If Cloud's health is too low the weapon will hinder his attack instead. *'Fusion Sword:' In Advent Children Cloud returns the Buster Sword to mark Zack's grave and begins using this weapon: six smaller swords that can combine into a large blade resembling his original Buster Sword. Cloud has demonstrated excellent use of not only the complete sword but also the smaller and different shaped blades, by separating them mid-combat and switching to different fighting strategies. *'Ribbon:' A red ribbon Cloud keeps tied in his left arm, in honor to his fallen friend, Aerith. The Ribbon has a mysterious power that protects its wearer from all of the game's Status Ailments. *'Fenrir:' Cloud's motorcycle from Advent Children onward, given by an unidentified person in exchange for free food and drink for life at the Seventh Heaven bar. The vehicle has been modified to suit Cloud's tastes, given an armor to withstand combat and compartments at its sides where Cloud can store the separated blades of the Fusion Sword. *'Materia:' Rarely, the Spirit Energy of Lifestream may be particularly abundant in an area on the Planet's surface, and for years it can concentrate in that certain spot to then condense and crystalize, eventually becoming Materia. In the modern day, the Shinra Electric Power Company artificially manufactures Materia through their extraction of Mako, the term they've given to the Spirit Energy they've extracted through reactors. Contained in it is the wisdom of the Cetra, an ancient race who were spiritually connected to the Planet and knew how to access its powers. Materia allows the access to this knowledge to be able to call upon those powers, just like the Cetra did, in many different ways, most notably Magic. There are different kinds of Materia, represented by different colors: green (Magic), red (Summoning), yellow (Commands), blue (Support) and purple (Independent). Materia can be equipped in many different ways: Cloud and the party slot them into their weapons and armor, Vincent can additionally put them in keychains attached to his guns, Zack can carry up to six in his person, while the Remnants of Sephiroth, due to their nature, can absorb them directly into their bodies. Notable Attacks/Techniques: Limit Breaks * Braver: Cloud jumps into the air before cleaving the opponent in two with a single vertical strike. In Dissidia, Cloud instead begins this attack in the air, dashing into the target before slamming them into the floor. * Cross-Slash: A single physical attack with three slashes. Can inflict paralysis. In AC, with the first Tsurugi, he can split it into 2 separate blades and do a cross slash. * Blade Beam: Fires a blue energy beam that can be fired multiple times at once. * Climhazzard: Runs an opponent through the the Buster Sword before dragging them into the air with an upward slash. Cloud uses Climhazzard to defeat Bahamut SIN in Advent Children. * Finishing Touch: Hits all enemies with a tornado causing instant death, or dealing normal damage for any enemy immune to instant death. In Dissidia, he instead spins around the opponent, delivering multiple slashes while rising to the air, then slams them into the ground. * Meteorain: Cloud swings his sword and fires off 6 meteor-like bolts of energy at his opponent(s). * Omnislash: Cloud's original ultimate Limit Break. Cloud rushes towards his opponent before unleashing a flurry of fourteen critically damaging blows at high speed. Cloud then dramatically leaps into the air and brings his sword down for the final slash to finish his opponent. The Dissidia version has Cloud fly around his opponent as he dishes out these attacks, striking the opponent's back and vitals so quickly that that one is only able to see his position after finishing each slash before finishing them off with the final downward slice. ** Omnislash Version 5: Cloud separates the Fusion Sword into its six component blades that float around his opponent. He is then engulfed in an orange aura before dashing past the target at incredible speeds that leave foes as fast as Sephiroth unable to react, leaving afterimages in his wake as he grabs another blade which he combines with the one he has in hand before attacking his opponent again. He repeats this motion until he collects all six blades, upon which he finishes his target with a single strike from the First Tsurugi. In Dissidia he is also able to perform this with the Buster Sword, being a shorter variation of Omnislash that has Cloud fly around the opponent multiple times before finishing with the downward strike. ** Omnislash Version 6: A longer variation of Omnislash Version 5 that only appeared in Advent Children Complete, Cloud is engulfed in a blue aura before enacting Omnislash Version 5, only striking the target multiple times with each additional sword for a total of thirteen devastating blows. This technique finished off Sephiroth with a single use, forcing him to dissipate back into the Lifestream. * Cherry Blossom Slash: An attack exclusive to his appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics, Cloud unleashes a powerful barrage of lightning, ice and fire to devastate an opponent. Magic & Other Skills *'Ice:' Obtained in Sector 1 Train Station, part of Cloud's starting equipment. Bestows Ice (Blizzard), Ice2 (Blizzara) and Ice3 (Blizzaga). *'Lightning:' Obtained in Sector 1 Train Station, part of Cloud's starting equipment. Bestows Bolt (Thunder), Bolt2 (Thundara) and Bolt3 (Thundaga). *'Restore:' Obtained in Sector 1 reactor, just before the Guard Scorpion boss fight. Bestows Cure (Cure), Cure2 (Cura), Regen (Regen) and Cure3 (Curaga). *'Poison:' Obtained in the Shinra Headquarters, after seeing the Jenova containment scene. Bestows Bio (Bio), Bio2 (Biora) and Bio3 (Bioga). *'Fire:' Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Bestows Fire (Fire), Fire2 (Fira) and Fire3 (Firaga). *'All:' Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Allows Area of Effect attacks. *'Sense:' Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, part of Red XIII's starting equipment. Allows to Scan the capabilities and weaknesses of enemies. *'Enemy Skill:' Obtained in Shinra Headquarters, after defeating Sample H0512. Allows learning specific abilities from enemies for personal use. The following abilities are likely to be learned during the story: **'Frog Song:' Learned from Toxic Frogs in the Temple of the Ancients and Christopher in the Northern Crater. **'Bad Breath:' Learned from Malboros in Gaea's Cliff and the Northern Cave. **'Aqualung:' Learned from Jenova*LIFE at the Forgotten City and the Serpent in the Sunken Gelnika. **'Trine:' Learned from the Materia Keeper in Mt. Nibel, Godo in the Wutai Pagoda and Stilvas in Gaea's Cliff. **'Magic Breath:' Learned from Stilvas in Gaea's Cliff and Parasites in the Northern Cave. **'Death Sentence:' Learned from Sneaky Steps and Gi Spectres in the Cave of the Gi, and Boundfats in Corel Valley. **'Shadow Flare:' Learned from Dragon Zombie in the Northern Crater and Safer Sephiroth in the Planet's Core. **'Pandora's Box': Learned from the Dragon Zombie in the Planet's Core. ** *'Long Range:' Obtained in Mithril Mines, lying around. Allows to deal full damage regardless of the row and reach faraway enemies with regular attacks. *'All:' Obtained in the Cargo Ship, next to the spot where Yuffie was. Allows Area of Effect attacks. *'Transform:' Obtained in the Gold Saucer, part of Cait Sith's starting equipment. Bestows Toad and Mini. *'Manipulate:' Obtained in the Gold Saucer, part of Cait Sith's starting equipment. Allows to take control of an enemy *'Ramuh:' Obtained in the Gold Saucer, Chochobo Jockey Room. Summons Ramuh to deal Lightning damage to all enemies. *'Added Effect:' Obtained in the Cave of the Gi, by exploring its paths. Weapons inflict status ailments, while armor protects from them. *'Gravity:' Obtained in the Cave of the Gi in Cosmo Canyon, after defeating Gi Nattak. Bestows Demi (Gravity), Demi2 (Gravira) and Demi3 (Graviga). *'Destruct:' Obtained at the Shinra Mansion, left by Sephiroth's copy. Bestows DeBarrier, DeSpell (Dispel) and Death. While the Shinra Mansion is a sidequest, it is how Vincent is recruited into the party, and, as the compilation shows, him joining is canon. Vincent also will not join until after the encounter with Sephiroth in the library of the mansion, meaning this Materia is obtained story-wise. Side materials also acknowledge this encounter with Sephiroth as canon. *'All:' Obtained in Mt. Nibel, room of the Materia Keeper. Allows Area of Effect attacks. *'Elemental:' Obtained in Mt. Nibel, next to the natural Materia Spring. Gives weapons elemental properties, armor protects from elemental damage. *'Counter Attack:' Obtained in Mt. Nibel, after defeating Materia Keeper. Allows countering enemy moves with Physical Attacks. *'MP Absorb:' Obtained in Wutai while looking for Yuffie. She steals it as well but returns it once the sidequest is over. User can absorb 1% of the damage inflicted as MP. While Wutai is a sidequest, Yuffie joining the team is canon, as the compilation shows, so the events indeed took place within the story. *'Morph:' Obtained in the Temple of the Ancients, before the Spring with Sephiroth's vision. Turn defeated enemies into items. *'Comet:' Obtained in the Forgotten Capital, atop of the building with the gate leading where Aerith is praying. Bestows Comet and Comet2 (Cometeor). The English Script included in the Collector's Set for the Advent Children movie reveals that Yazoo and Loz used Comet among the Spells cast in their suicide attack at the end of the movie. Given the Materia the Remnants of Sephiroth used in the movie were stolen from Cloud, it would mean Cometn was in his possession since the original game. *'MP Turbo:' Obtained in the Whirlwind Maze, after defeating Jenova*DEATH. Increases the cost and power of Spells and Summons by up to x1.5 depending on the level of the Materia. *'Contain:' Obtained in Mideel, by feeding the Sylkis Greens to the white Chocobo. Bestows Freeze, Break, Tornado and Flare. While the Materia does seem out of the way at first, the English Script included in the Collector's Set for the Advent Children movie reveals that Yazoo and Loz used Flare, the last ability taught by this Materia, among the Spells cast in their suicide attack at the end of the movie. Given the Materia the Remnants of Sephiroth used in the movie were stolen from Cloud, it would mean Contain was in his possession since the original game. *'Ultima:' Obtained in Corel from the boy as thanks for stopping the train with the Huge Materia or sold if the train wasn't stopped. Bestows Ultima. *'Double Cut:' Obtained in the Sunken Gelnika. Bestows 2x and 4x Cut, which allow several almost simultaneous physical attacks. While the Sunken Gelnika is a sidequest, it is where Cid's Highwind Limit Break Manual is found. Side Materials acknowledge Cid's Highwind as a move he possessed, which can be taken as the visit of the Sunken Gelnika taking place within the story events. *'HP Absorb:' Obtained in the Northern Crater in the cliff descent area. Absorbs 10% of the dealt damage as health. *''Note: The following Materia are found after the party needs to split in the Northern Crater. While it seems optional at first, it's precisely given that the party splits in the previous section and that the game plays as if the group went through the different routes that the possibility that the parties, aside Cloud's, finding the Materia in each section is not unlikely. Moreover, depending on the routes taken, the party members may give Cloud the Materis found around the Northern Crater right before entering the Planet's Core.'' *'Shield:' Obtained in the Northern Crater in the Swamp Area. Bestows Shield. *'W-Magic:' Obtained in the Northern Crater, past the swamp area, in the path of the room with the glowing core. Allows casting two spells simultaneously. *'Counter:' Obtained in the Northern Crater, past the swamp area, in the glowing core of the following cavern. Allows countering an enemy move with the paired Command Materia. *'Mega-All:' Obtained in the Northern Crater in the caverns after the Swamp Area, next to a Lifestream waterfall. All abilities become Area of Effect moves. *'Magic Counter:' Obtained in the Northern Crater in the Lifestream waterfall following the Swamp Area. Allows to counter an enemy move with the paired Magic or Summon Materia. Others Notable Victories: Notable Losses: Inconclusive Matches: Category:Characters Category:Games Category:Final Fantasy Category:Final Fantasy VII Category:Protagonist Category:Tragic Characters Category:Soldiers Category:Assassins Category:Humans Category:Swordsmen Category:Weapons Master Category:Gun Users Category:Males Category:RPG Characters Category:Acrobats Category:Energy Manipulators Category:Soul Manipulators Category:Non-Physical Interaction Users Category:Negation Users Category:Astral Projectors Category:Death Users Category:Matter Manipulators Category:Explosion Users Category:Transmutation Users Category:Magic Users Category:Fire Users Category:Ice Users Category:Lightning Users Category:Time Benders Category:Size Users Category:Madness Inducers Category:Mind Users Category:Gravity Users Category:Poison Users Category:Biological Manipulators Category:Earth Users Category:Wind Users Category:Purification Users Category:Stat Reduction Users Category:Sleep Inducers Category:BFR Users Category:Healers Category:Telepaths Category:Damage Boost Users Category:Information Analyzers Category:Attack Reflection Users Category:Regenerators Category:Flight Users Category:Duplication Users Category:Absolute Zero Users Category:Water Users Category:Holy Users Category:Sound Users Category:Absorbers Category:Life-Force Users Category:Square Enix Category:Final Fantasy: Dissida Category:Stealth Masters Category:Instinctive Reactors Category:Tier 4